Simulating the Flow Dynamics in Hydroentangling Nozzles: Effect of Cone Angle and Nozzle Aspect Ratio

Abstract

Flow behavior in various nozzle shapes from the hydroentangling cone-capillary family is modeled in this paper. The work studies the effects of cone angle and nozzle aspect ratio (the ratio of the capillary section to its diameter) on water-jet formation. In particular, two sets of nozzles are considered. The first set consists of nozzles that have an aspect ratio of one and cone angles of 19, 15, 11, 7, and 3°, respectively. The nozzles in the second set have their inlet and outlet diameters fixed, but their aspect ratios vary from 1 to 6. The results from a two-phase axisymmetric steady-state model of turbulent nozzle flow reveal that decreasing the cone angle or increasing the nozzle aspect ratio does not affect the hydroentangling water-jet characteristics. The computational scheme is validated by comparing part of the results with the available experimental data in the literature.

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